After seeing the Elegant Trogans (no pics worth showing), I was hiking back on the South Fork trail of Cave Creek Canyon, and spotted this very pretty Painted Redstart. The forest was pretty quiet, with few birds about, so I was very happy to have this warbler hop around and pose for me. He has white undertail feathers that he likes to fan and show off. In this shot he just perched out in the open, ready for his portrait. 9/6/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com
While in Arizona I saw lots of wildflowers--more than usual, thanks to the extra monsoon rainfall. One plant was this Apache Plume, showing both the white flowers and the "plumes" which are the seedheads. In this case the honey bee and the butterfly photo bombed the image. 9/5/21 wwwsparhawkphotography.com
One of the special birds I always hope to see when I visit Arizona, is this Yellow-eyed Junco. This species only shows up in the US in a small part of the southeast corner of the state. This little cutie actually showed up on the back porch of the cabin in which I stayed in Madera Canyon. He hopped around just a few feet from me, where the raccoons showed up later in the evening. This was certainly one of the easiest bird sightings of the trip.! 9/4/21 www.sparhawkphotography.com
